If you've watched Parks and Rec, you are probably pretty familiar with the idea of Galentine's day. I, for one, am all about it. Who doesn't love a chance to celebrate with your gals. I wanted to put together an easy and affordable "how to" on how to have an epic get together with your girlfriends. I tried to use a lot of things that I had around my house, but I also purchased a few things. In coming up with this blog post I made a few things priority: a beautiful table scape, a great charcuterie board, and a custom cocktail (who doesn't love a drink unique to the occasion!).

We'll start with the charcuterie. Trader Joe's is my favorite place to get all the fixins' for a good cheese board. I went for three different types of cheese, some prosciutto and salami, a baguette, some crispy bread sticks, as well as some blackberries, pomegranate seeds, truffle oil almonds, and some fig jam for garnish. We also decided to put our desserts on the same table. I was trying to keep things simple so we snagged some heart shaped shortbreads with raspberry jam from Trader Joe's, as well as some delectable pistachio and raspberry macaroons from Whole Foods.

Next, we move onto the table scape. I wanted to put together a table scape that was girly, but not too girly. I also wanted to keep it affordable. The first things I found that kind of set the tone for the whole table were the placemats and place cards from Hester & Cook. Hester & Cook is a really fun local store here in Nashville. If you are planning a party, definitely go check them out. They specialize in unique paper goods and everything in their store is AH-MAZING.

I used matte black plates that I bought a couple years ago from World Market. I also purchased the napkins on clearance at World Market, as well as the gold rimmed goblets (not on clearance, but still a good deal!).

The antique gold flatware was a flea market steal a few years back, as well as the antique champagne cooler holding the flowers. I wanted to mix modern and antique and I think the two matte black candle holders that are Hearth & Hand by Magnolia for Target really helped do that. The jewel cut glasses also came from Target and I love them!

I wanted to keep it on the cheap with the florals so they all came from the grocery store:) . I decided to knot the napkins for a bit of a more casual look. I decided to go with the black tapers for a bit of a moodier vibe. I was so happy with the way this all came together. It seems like the perfect place to host your gal pals to me!

We wanted to create a custom cocktail that you can easily create at home to celebrate! We are calling it the l’Eau de Saint-Valentin:

l’Eau de Saint-Valentin

((The Water Of Valentines))

Yield: 2

INGREDIENTS

3 oz Eden Mill Love Gin

1.5 oz Berry Syrup*

1 Lime

2 Small Cucumber Wedges

Tonic Water

INSTRUCTIONS

Muddle gin, lime & cucumber until fully juiced.
Fill glasses with ice, strain and divide juice.
Top with tonic water and drizzle Berry Syrup.
Garnish with a cucumber spear, a blackberry and a sprig of thyme.

BERRY SYRUP RECIPE

5 Blackberries

5 Rasberries

2 Tbsp Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp Water

Place all ingredients in saucepan on low for 10 minutes.
Press juices from berries and stir intermittently.
Strain and chill.

Recipe curtesy of my friend, Bede Benjamin-Korporaal. Also wanted to give a shout out to his amazing wife and one of my best friends, Izzy for being awesome and helping me all day. You guys are the best <3

Happy Galentines, y'all.